EMPLOYEE PROFILE: STEAM TEAM Many students who now apply to postsecondary programs like Humber’s new Engineering degrees are introduced to the science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) fields through workshops and demonstrations in middle school or high school.
BARRETT CENTRE FOR TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION
NEWSLETTER
APRIL 2021
The Barrett CTI serves as the perfect environment for Humber’s STEAM workshops. These workshops for middle school and high school students are created by the STEAM team: a group of students from the Faculty of Applied Sciences & Technology. “We inspire young people to pursue STEAM. As a team, we develop lessons and demonstrations for students, and we teach them about programming. The Barrett CTI enables us to virtually demonstrate our technology through engaging competitions,” said Maramawit Demisse, STEAM coach and additive manufacturing lead at the Barrett CTI. Demisse is a graduate of Humber’s Electromechanical Technology program. She did not have the same kind of exposure to STEAM as high school students do today and became interested in STEAM later in her post-secondary journey. “I wanted to give STEAM a shot, but I wasn’t sure. I studied music and social work before, so I was figuring out what I liked,” she said. Demisse values creativity, and it serves her well in her current role. “When dealing with younger students, you have to be creative. It shouldn’t be dry because it won’t inspire them or make them want to join STEAM,” she said.
Pictured above (L-R): Barrett CTI STEAM Team students demonstrate some of the technology and equipment in the STEAM Learning Lab in the Barrett CTI: Owen Allan, Jonathan Rodrigues, Team Lead Maramawit Demisse, Manavi Sharma, and Andres Martinez. Missing: Daneep Lahl and Anthony Bathish.
Barrett CTI is integral in Humber’s response to the engineering skills gap The first cohort of students in Humber College’s new Bachelor of Engineering programs will start classes in September 2021, and not a moment too soon. Canadian society relies on engineers to build and maintain infrastructure and technology, which is constantly evolving. The degrees include Bachelor of Engineering - Information Systems Engineering, Bachelor of Engineering - The Built Environment and Bachelor of Engineering - Mechatronics. The Barrett Centre for Technology Innovation (Barrett CTI) will be the home base for many of the programs’ students. Industries require innovation, and Humber will take innovation to the next level with these degrees. “The skills gap has been growing for more than two decades. The pandemic accelerated the need for industrial automation and digital transformation solutions that address manufacturing safety, operational flexibility and resiliency,” said Ehren Jones, regional commercial operations manager at Rockwell Automation. Rockwell Automation provides the control devices and software technology that manufacturers use to run their operations sustainably. “While much of what the company does is behind the scenes, you have no doubt used a product touched by Rockwell, from the car you drive, to the food you eat, to the medicines you use,” said Jones. As Rockwell’s reach broadens, so does its need for engineering graduates with critical thinking skills and the ability to adapt to a rapidly changing industry like industrial automation.
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Rockwell is one of the founding partners of Humber’s Advanced Manufacturing Skills Consortium, which supports science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) outreach with live automation applications that show students what a career in engineering can look like. Rockwell also promotes collaboration between students and industry on applied research and provides leadership and insight on current industry trends.
When a school board or high school is looking to host a STEAM day or workshop, they call Humber’s Community Outreach and Workforce Development’s manager of community projects, Lynn VanLieshout.
“Collaborations between business and academia such as the Barrett CTI continue to enable a diverse pipeline of critical thinkers and problem solvers needed for careers that evolve as fast as technology itself. We applaud Humber’s differentiated approach,” said Jones. Spaces like the Barrett CTI and the Humber Arboretum play a critical role in developing the new engineering degrees, which will treat campus as a living lab. “The Faculty of Applied Sciences & Technology is renowned for offering more than 40 comprehensive programs in design, engineering and engineering technology, and skilled trades from our state-of-the-art facilities,” says Farzad Rayegani, senior dean of the Faculty of Applied Sciences & Technology. “The degrees will blend classroom theory with project-based learning providing students with the critical-thinking and hands-on skills needed to prepare the next generation of engineering leaders.” For the Mechatronics and Information Systems Engineering students, the Barrett CTI is a technology powerhouse that will help set them apart from other engineering students. Each degree meets the accreditation requirements of the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB). Humber will be eligible to apply for CEAB accreditation after the graduation of the first cohort of students. Mateusz Cwalinski started in Humber’s Electromechanical Engineering Technician program in 2017. Cwalinski and his teammate Bogdan Malynovskyy represented Team Canada in Mechatronics at WorldSkills 2019 in Kazan, Russia. Cwalinski also took on the role of mentor and coached others within the Barrett CTI. The more he learned, the more he could teach other students, which he enjoyed. Right after graduation, he worked for Consortium founding partner KUKA Robotics. He immediately noticed the need for skilled and specialized engineering professionals. He found that a job opening can sometimes be vacant for a year because they cannot find candidates with the right skills or experience. “Technology moves so quickly that you can get behind. Once you get behind, it is difficult to catch up,” said Cwalinski. He sees Humber’s new programs as a strong solution to the skills gap. He applied to the Bachelor of Engineering - Mechatronics program and will be part of the degree’s first cohort in Fall 2021. “There is so much I want to learn. The program is based on what the industry needs, not based on books, because of the strong partnerships our college has with industry,” said Cwalinski. In 2020, he returned to Humber College as a Skills coach and technology developer at the Barrett CTI. Cwalinski’s thirst for knowledge was a good fit with the Centre’s focus on research and innovation. He’s not certain what he will do after he is finished his degree, but feels his Humber education and hands-on work experience will help him in any job in the sector. Cwalinski is interested in teaching and continuing to give back to the Humber community that supported him. He may also work in the industry. Either way, a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Humber College, supported by the Barrett CTI, will prepare him for success. For more information about the Barrett CTI, visit www.humber.ca/barrettcti or contact Neal Mohammed, director, Barrett Centre for Technology Innovation, neal.mohammed@humber.ca.
She coordinates college exploration days, designed to show students – often those who may not be exposed to postsecondary education - what Humber College has to offer and allow them to participate in hands-on, experiential learning. “The ask is coming right from the various school boards across the GTA. They know this is the way to a lot of jobs in the future,” said VanLieshout. Workshop delivery will be virtual this year due to COVID-19; the Humber students will present demonstrations on a live online platform and take questions throughout the session. The STEAM team students are committed to delivering the best possible learning experience. “They’re very invested in the career path they chose and enjoy the unique learning experiences they have had while working in the Barrett CTI,” said Demisse. The Barrett CTI hosted an online event in April with more than 150 student attendees, which was presented in partnership with Advanced Manufacturing Skills Consortium member Cisco, and featured a virtual reality and haptics demonstration. With support from the Faculty of Media & Creative Arts, presenters showcased haptics, where technology simulates the sense of touch or motion. The demonstration showed how Humber uses haptics and virtual reality to further progress in industries from the medical field to game development.